Video telepresence systems are often meant to present themselves as “always available” so that it feels to users as if the two locations have been brought together, allowing for natural interactions as if the users were in close physical proximity. However, because these systems are always available, they introduce privacy problems when users desire a higher level of privacy then the system provides. A person being viewed by another person at a remote location may attempt to control the privacy at his location by turning off the camera, placing a lens cap over the camera lens or exiting the viewing range of the camera. These solutions may solve the privacy problems but introduce new problems with respect to image availability and presence indication.
A further problem with telepresence systems is that it is often not obvious and/or intuitive to a user that a telepresence system is transmitting signals (e.g., audio/visual) to a remote location. For example, a local user might not be able to determine what is displayed to a remote user. Thus, the local user may be unaware that the camera is capturing images or audio of them.
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